Last week we heard Jesus say to Peter: “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” At times we are all just like Peter; we doubt when God seems far from us and when we see no way clear in trouble. Like the “foreign” (Caananite) woman in the Gospel today (this Twentieth Sunday of Ordinary Time), we must persist in our faith and in our trust in God. This is always easier ‘said than done’ especially when we are burdened by trouble and sin, and our lives are stormy and busy. (Remember last week’s article: Storms and Quiet?) It is difficult to be focused on God—because everything else, all our activities and busyness distract us from Him. So, why not try to schedule in time and activities to help bring us closer to God?
 
Around here at St. Aidan there are so many ministries in which to get involved! This may help us to focus on God as an “activity.” In my particular ministry—the Music Ministry—we spend time giving our best to God in song. In our work we are focused on Scripture because our hymns and anthems (solo group songs) contain texts created from scripture. Our music may also be simply praise and thanksgiving to God or may reflect and express our discipleship commitment as believers. We also gain an understanding of our lovely Catholic rituals as we work to enhance our worship here. I am always looking for more singers—all ages, the young and the youthful—so please consider spending time with God in song! (Come and see me or email me at [email protected] of your interest in our ministry.)
 
The music that we all sing together in the Eucharistic Prayer joins us to heaven as we pray the Mass. It is important to be focused on our responses in these deep moments. In light of this--Just a Note: The next season (Fall) is almost upon us—we have our end of summer Harvest Festival in just a couple of weeks! Time is flying by… Please consider sharing your time and talents in some sort of activity in God. And as always, keep singing!


Elizabeth Dyc

Today, this Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, we hear in the First Reading (from the Old Testament) in the Book of I Kings that the Prophet Elijah hears God’s voice as a whisper. He has just experienced the awesome glory and power and might of God’s creation and expects to find God in this power; and yet instead, Elijah hears God’s voice in the quiet.
 
Our lives are like the earthquakes, the winds and the fires described in Kings. We are living “helter-skelter” lives, burning our candles at both ends (and sometimes even in the middle!). We live stressed. We are always hurrying, and rushing, where? We can’t seem to find the time to stop and listen to God. Not many of us know how to leave the rat race—those stormy, incessant, whirlpool lives we call the daily grind.
 
In the Gospel today Jesus walks on the water and calls Peter to him to do the same. Peter’s faith falters, and he begins to sink in the stormy waves, and he cries: “Lord, save me!” (All of us do this when we are in trouble!) Jesus does for Peter as he always does for all of us: he stretches out His hand to hold us up. He stills the storm, and he tells us to take courage and to ‘Be Not Afraid.’ First though, it is important to be still, and to be able to hear the whisper of His voice in our hearts. As usual, it’s all about our priorities, and our choices.
 
Find some quiet time; think about the priorities in your life. Is God first? Do you take the time to hear God whisper to you? We are facing the end of the summer season and as always our pace picks up—school begins, work intensifies, activities need to be scheduled—and our life becomes stretched thin. I know that many may people have trouble committing to a ministry, or to the study of God’s Word. I do encourage you to pray about how you spend your time and talent, (and treasure), and to ask yourselves: is God first in all my plans? Hmmm… Just some summer food for thought….
Keep singing!
 

​Elizabeth Dyc